DC’s iconic superhero Batman has had a variety of big-screen adventures ever since his first movie appearance all the way back in 1966. Batman has proved to be an enduring character in Hollywood, and many actors have played the masked vigilante over the years. With Matt Reeves‘ new Bat-flick now highly anticipated, what better time to reflect on Batman Begins, one of the best films in the entire franchise, and which proved that when done right, reboots can be successful.
Batman Begins still holds up as the greatest superhero origin story. It redefined the comic book movie experience, ushering in a new era of gritty superheroes. Before Batman Begins, superhero movies were mostly light-hearted entertainment, but Christopher Nolan changed the formula and made everything darker. While The Dark Knight gets much of the credit for its impact on the superhero genre, Batman Begins laid the blueprint for the trilogy, using a blend of realism and fantasy, which inspired legions of imitators to do the same. It’s not just the cynical bleakness that made Batman Begins special, but the depth of character and questions the film tackles, all of which have allowed the film to stand the test of time.
THE CAPED CRUSADER
Batman Begins speaks to the inherent importance of the origin story, or the precise moment the man or woman comes of age and turns into the hero we’ve all been waiting for. However, it’s hard to ignore that origin stories have become tired in recent years, with movies such as Spider-Man: Homecoming avoiding it altogether. Christopher Nolan, though, went into a different direction with his origin story.
Batman Begins isn’t so much about digging into Bruce Wayne’s past as it is about showing him as a relatable character, experiencing loss, pain, and failure, on the path to becoming Batman. For instance, there are several extended sequences training sequences before Bruce Wayne seeks revenge in Gotham, and Bruce Wayne spends the vast majority of the film battling his demons and trying to find redemption. He blames himself for the death of his parents, he can’t get revenge for their killer, and his fear of bats has haunted him since childhood. The League of Shadows led by Ra’s al Ghul (Liam Neeson) provides Bruce with the training to confront his past, but of course, they turn out to have very sinister motivations.
Nolan understood that the journey to becoming Batman was just as important as Batman going head-to-head with enemies in Gotham City. In fact, it takes an hour of run time before Bruce Wayne puts on the bat suit. In many ways, this is Batman Begins’ greatest strength, because when Batman is finally ‘revealed’ in a fight at Gotham’s dockyard, the moment feels truly cathartic, like we’re watching the superhero for the first time. That gradual incline to becoming Batman couldn’t have been delivered any better. Nolan has Bruce Wayne traveling to a mountain top and training with ninjas. He keeps the action low-key and builds the character from the ground-up, and in turn, Nolan provides a welcomed 21st century revamp of the superhero formula.
THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK
Batman Begins arrived in cinemas eight years after Joel Schumacher‘s Batman & Robin, which was a commercial failure and widely considered as one of the worst movies of all time. Nolan succeeded in revitalising Batman, presenting him quite simply as a man, living in a very human world of cops and gangsters, and who is motivated by revenge and guilt. It was a remarkably simple approach to the source material that seemed to take everyone by surprise at the time. The darkness in Batman Begins felt real. Where Tim Burton and other filmmakers had portrayed Batman as a mostly one-dimensional hero wearing a mask, Nolan gave the character an oppressive quality, which made Batman feel like a genuine threat to the various criminals in Gotham City.
Batman Begins works so well because we get to the human side of the character, or in other words, the man behind the mask. When Bruce Wayne first appears on-screen, it’s easy to believe he’s suffering from inner turmoil, and it’s all executed brilliantly by Christian Bale. While his rumbling growl has been the source of internet memes over the years, it’s still an intimidating voice that fits this iteration of Batman. The film serves as a blank canvas of sorts, wiping away all the clichés of the superhero genre. The famous Batmobile is upgraded to a high-tech armoured car that looks more like a tank. Bruce Wayne’s suit has a design that’s more serious and the bat cave is, well, an actual cave full of bats. Nolan’s approach to Batman was to simplify everything. In many ways, it was like the Casino Royale of Batman films.
It was also perhaps a masterstroke that Nolan decided not to include a headline villain. Batman Begins uses Scarecrow and Ra’s al Ghul to chip away at Bruce Wayne’s deepest fears, preparing him for the anarchic Joker, played by Heath Ledger, that would arrive in the sequel. While both Scarecrow and Ra’s al Ghul are now well-known, Batman Begins did an excellent job of holding things back and bringing in two villains that would defy expectations and play to the movie’s strengths of reinventing Batman as a fully-realised character.
If Batman Begins had introduced The Joker or any other major villain from Batman’s long list of rogues, The Dark Knight would have likely have had a lot more to live up to, and it may not have blown audiences away as much as it did in 2008. It’s fair to say that Batman Begins stood for something more than just an origin story. The film has so much to say about injustice, morality, and guilt – and it’s arguably one of the finest examples of a film that really connects with its sequels. Whereas other superhero franchises have various arcs scattered across multiple films, Batman Begins and its follow-ups are all tonally very similar, with the same overriding message.
There have been many great superhero origin stories, but none quite as great as Batman Begins. Made with precision and purpose, the film gets audiences to understand the very core of Batman and what he represents. While there are dozens of memorable moments, the way the film makes Batman a genuinely interesting and complex character remains its lasting legacy.
What’s your take on the legacy of Batman Begins? Let us know in the comments below!
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